If you see "The Last Cowboy" crop up in the TV listings and think it sounds a bit familiar you won't be alone. When I spotted it and read the write up of an estranged daughter returning home to the family cattle ranch and having a battle with her estranged father I felt that I had seen it before, I just didn't recognize the names. As it turns out I hadn't seen "The Last Cowboy" before but it shares similarities with various other movies which I would call Hallmark ranch movies, those where we have problems on the ranch, problems between two family members and then some drama which sees them come together, get past their difficulties as well as misunderstandings and save the ranch from going under. As such I won't lie and say that "The Last Cowboy" is some amazing movie as it isn't but for those who enjoy these gentle, sweet ranch dramas which serve up a feel good ending it serves its purpose.

Many years after having left her father's Dry Creek ranch, Jacqueline 'Jake' Cooper (Jennie Garth) returns for the funeral of her grandfather and learns that in his will she has inherited his share. But the relationship between Jake and her father Will (Lance Henriksen - Scream 3) is uneasy after she abandoned the ranch following her mother's death, a death she blames Will for. And to make matters worse times are hard for the ranch and with a property developer wanting to buy the ranch and the bank ready to call it the loan they are going to have to patch up their differences if they are going to keep the ranch in the family.

So as already pointed out "The Last Cowboy" is basically another Hallmark ranch drama and as such has various cliches which dominate these sorts of movies. We have the broken relationship between Will and his daughter 'Jake' which is due to something which happened some years ago and we also have the ranch in financial difficulties and on the verge of being reclaimed by the bank. Throw into the mix a romantic subplot and an old fashioned friendship between Will and his foreman Amos and you have the basic elements of your typical ranch drama. And as such the way this plays out with Will being pig headed, his daughter Jake being bitter and a drama which ends up seeing misunderstandings cleared up and them working together to try and save the ranch is not a surprise.

Now in a way this is disappointing as there is little which feels any different to another ranch movie, even the subplot of Jake having become a top horse trainer and wanting to turn the failing cattle ranch into an equine centre doesn't make it feel any more original. But then whilst disappointing it is also entertaining especially if like me you enjoy these bitter sweet ranch dramas. It delivers all those stereotypical scenes that make these movies pleasant from the beautiful skies through to scenes of cattle handling and horse riding. And I am sure some people will also enjoy seeing Bradley Cooper in an early role as a horse handler, flashing that smile as a romantic interest.

One of the things which does help "The Last Cowboy" is that at its heart it has a trio of nice performances. For those who remember the original "Beverly Hills 90210" and maybe watched then new "90210" it is nice to watch Jennie Garth especially as she looks so comfortable as Jake. Garth gets across that unique blend of being someone who knows how to work on a ranch but has experienced the world and real business, making her both strong and with ideas. She works well with Lance Henriksen who not only has that right sense of being old fashioned as her father Will but also gets across the bitterness he feels from when Jake left and blamed him from her mother's death. And then in-between these two you have a nice bit of light hearted humour from M.C. Gainey as foreman Amos. These 3 work well together, never really delivering anything more than you expect but never looking out of place.

What this all boils down to is that like other Hallmark ranch movies "The Last Cowboy" is a pleasant enough watch even if it isn't that different to so many others. It basically delivers that bitter sweet drama and beautiful backdrops that you expect before delivering a feel good ending.